The list features the nation's top 30 returning college quarterbacks as ranked by ESPN's new Total Quarterback Rating System.

The winner of the award will be selected by panel voting after post-season bowl games are done.

The QBR factors in a quarterback's contribution to scoring.

On a scale of 100, Mariota starts the season with a QBR of 87.3, the second best on the list. Mannion scores a 62.5.

Of the 30 QBs on the list, only Johnny Manziel from Texas A&M beat out Mariota with a QBR of 90.5. Stephen Morris from University of Miami, Florida had the lowest of the Top 30 with 59.6.

All told, 4 Pac-12 QBs made the list. In addition to Mariota and Mannion, Brett Hundley at UCLA scored a 68.8. Taylor Kelly at Arizona State came in with a QBR of 65.7.

So what does the number mean?

“Total QBR uses all of a quarterback’s plays and accounts for the context of the game and quality of the defenses faced,” said ESPN Stats & Information Senior Director Jeff Bennett. “We are excited to bring a more complete rating system to the fans to allow for fairer comparisons of quarterbacks who play in different types of systems and face various levels of competition. We’re pleased that a national award like the Manning Award has seen the value of our new Total QBR for college.”

The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that includes the candidates’ bowl performances in its balloting.

“This is always an exciting time of year for college football players, coaches and fans,” said Archie Manning. “ESPN has come up with an interesting new statistical measure of quarterbacks so we decided to use the QBR to determine our Watch List, but we want to remind everyone that every quarterback in the country remains eligible to win this honor and we’re looking forward to seeing how things play out on the field.”